26. Isla #2
After setting her weapon inside the cottage, Norae led them around her house to her backyard, where two flat-topped logs faced a large, open fire pit. Between Lily, Nico, and Norae, it didn’t take long to gather enough wood to have a nice fire burning in the pit.
Introductions were made, and once again, to Jonto’s evident relief, Robert tamped down his upper-class prejudices and treated Norae with respect, even throwing in a surprising stab at bonhomie now and again.
Whether Robert was playing a role or not was beside the point.
As long as he behaved civilly toward the Captain’s friend, that was all Isla could ask.
After visiting for a good half-hour, Jonto stood and motioned for Isla to join him.
Exceedingly nervous because she desperately wanted this woman to agree to leave this seeming paradise and return with them and take up residence in a broken-down gamekeeper’s shack, Isla rose from her log and stood beside the Captain.
Jonto turned to the hedge witch. “Norae, would you walk with Isla and me for a bit? Although I always love visiting you whenever we’re nearby, we came to ask a favor.”
Norae narrowed her eyes. “A favor? What could a poor soothsayer do for a man who lives most of his life on the sea?” Despite the question, the woman joined them on a walk around the glade’s outer perimeter.
With hands clasped behind his back, Jonto spoke as they forged a path through the tufted meadow grass where tall, distinctive, cylindrical flowers reached to the heavens.
He explained Isla’s situation in detail, told Norae about the damage done to her land, and gave a succinct overview of everything he’d seen as he’d walked through those upper fields.
Norae’s gaze sharpened when he told her about the King’s plans to force her to marry Montfort so he could own her lands and estates.
Isla cringed when Norae stopped, crossed her arms, and pierced her with a steely-eyed glare. “Your family has owned that land for generations?”
“Yes, all the way back to my great-grandfather.” A ball of ice formed in her stomach because she knew what was coming next.
Norae, who stood half a head taller than Isla, stepped close and shoved fists onto her hips. “That land looks to you. You’re her caretaker, her mother, and you ignored her calls for help and allowed her to become sick and unhealthy. What kind of a mother does that to a child?”
Jonto looked ready to step in and defend her, but Isla held up a hand. “No, Jonto. She’s right. I’m the steward of that land. I should have been there, ensuring it was healthy and not overgrazed.”
She lifted her chin and looked directly into Norae’s eyes.
“I’m not going to make excuses for what happened.
You’re right. That land is mine, and I’m responsible for it.
That’s why we sailed across the sea to speak with you.
Jonto says that you know how to heal the land, and I’m begging you, as someone devastated by the damage I’ve done, please return with me to heal the harm my inattention wreaked on my land.
” Unbidden tears came to her eyes. “I don’t know how to heal my upper fields.
What I do know is that I can’t stand by and let them die. ”
That set Norae back on her heels. “Return with you?” This time, that glare landed directly on Jonto. “Leave my home? My plants?” Her gaze roamed the land surrounding her cabin. It took in each tree, flower, and garden—plants that had become her friends over the years.
Jonto stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her arm.
“Norae. I realize this is your home and this land, your family. I know that. But you told us that you can no longer hunt on Malgren’s estates.
How long before he tells you to leave altogether?
You know you’re not welcome here. It was his father who believed in you and your talent as an herbalist and botanical expert, and now that he’s passed on, his son wants you gone.
” Since she hadn’t pulled away, he moved his hand to her shoulder.
“It’s been a long time in coming, but I’m afraid that sooner rather than later, they’ll be here with torches and dogs to run you off. Or worse.”
Using both hands, Norae rubbed her face with weary resignation and then completely covered her eyes.
“I know.” Her shoulders drooped with a long, heartfelt sigh.
It wasn’t until those shoulders hitched that Isla realized the woman who seemed so strong and invincible on her first impression was working to hold in her tears.
Unable to watch another woman in pain, she moved in front of Jonto and embraced her.
Norae stiffened and then allowed Isla to pull her in close.
Isla deeply understood the gut-wrenching pain of having someone threaten to take her home.
She hoped what she had to offer might bring some measure of solace.
“We’ll welcome you with open arms, Norae.
There’s a gamekeeper’s cabin high in the woods on Jonto’s lands.
He and I are neighbors, so you won’t have far to walk to get to my upper fields.
And you’ll love my people.” She stepped back but kept her hands on Norae’s shoulders.
“There’s Lily. She’s the blonde sitting to the left of Robert.
She’s so much more than just my lady’s maid.
She’s strong and wise, down to earth, and more caring than anyone has a right to be. ”
Norae glanced over her shoulder at the group around the fire.
“Celie is to her left. She doesn’t live with me, but she was my mother’s companion for years and has been my friend ever since my mother died. She loves life. And plants? She delights in them.”
Norae looked deeply into Isla’s eyes. “Jonto said you could lose the land. Where would I be then?”
It was Jonto’s turn to reassure his friend.
“Then you’ll make my estates the healthiest, richest, most fertile acreage around.
You’ll have a thousand acres to work with and nurture.
The cottage will become your home, and my trees and bushes will be a second family.
You, me, and Nico will protect the land and each other.
What do you say? Will you join us in our new home?
Will you help my new friend here heal her fields? ”
With a sigh, Norae stared around at her land again. “Can you give me a few days to decide?”
“I can give you two. We had to anchor pretty far out. We’ll return to the Jest, and in two days’ time, I’ll bring the skiff into port with several of the crew, hire a wagon, and ride out to see what you’ve decided.
If you’ll come with us, we’ll help you pack.
You can bring as much of your furniture and belongings as you like, but just so you know, the cottage will come fully furnished.
We’ll remove anything you don’t need so you can have your belongings instead. ”
With a resigned nod, Norae slowly walked back to her cottage, let herself inside, and quietly shut the door.